RECAP 2016

So how was 2016 like??...I bet that's the question most people are currently asking. Well for me, it was a roller coaster. Bitter sweet experiences in between but at the end I have come to terms with so much. I have asked for forgiveness where it’s due and let the pain out. I have forgiven all who hurt me just for me to be whole again. I have become an instrument of positivity not only to myself but to others. I have lost and I have gained…but that is just a cycle of life.
2017...well let's wait and see but a more vibrant life is on top of my list…have a small trusted circle (to many fake people around).Lord help me specifically on this one because I have a poor tendency of trusting people. More so, I want this relationship with my God never to end...I am amazed at how when I fall, he picks me up each time. I am never perfect and I might get judged about it but hey!am just human trying to figure out life as you do...I can sometimes forget to read my bible, forget to pray, say a cursed word or go wrong but never mistake that I lack Christ in me...I am in constant pursuit of him everyday.

Ooh and did I mention more of the natural hair stuff??!😝😝.yap...natural hair journey continues in 2017
2017 am eagerly waiting for what you have in store for me.Please don't disappoint.

LIVE.LOVE.LAUGH

WE NEVER KNOW...

Yesterday I accidentally burnt my fingers while cooking and believe me the pain was so severe I could literally feel it  in my nerve straight to my heart(that is the only explanation I can give so work with that LOL).I spent half of my night whining in pain and getting some fresh air which was relieving by the way till my neighbor passed by and inquired why I was seated all alone.”I just burnt myself. Aki cjui(I don’t) what I was even thinking while covering a sufuria (pan)with another sufuria”,I said.At that point I realized we actually never know what is going to happen the next minute in our life.Neither do we know our destined future.We live as it is really and we can’t avoid the mistakes ahead.

Just last week I was watching HINDSIGHT…the series basically is about this girl who has a chance to go back to her past life and fix her mistakes but one way or another she ends up making the same mistakes and even worse.See we never really understand why this or that keeps happening but isn’t it great just living not knowing what’s next?I mean it would  be boring if everything was soooo perfect.

I  used to sometime think  when I cry that tears will never end;like that is what I am meant to  go through forever and I wonder where God is.Meet me next day and am all happy and joyful and I wonder why  was i crying yesterday?I know those are just how emotions work but really its just how unpredictable life is.We really never know.

Appreciate each moment you get to see,learn and live;appreciate each person who is in your life right now and those  you meet along the way.But most important, accept those mistakes,those faults.Don’t try changing just to fix it.Life is full of mistakes that’s how we learn.Find a balance between pleasing you and pleasing others.Oh!and relax,everything will be super fine!:-)

War Room

prayer is my powerful weapon

War room….have you guys watched that movie yet? I recently watched it although it’s a 2015 movie but hey no one really gets to watch all the movies released in a year. War room was produced by the Kendrick brothers who happen to produce most of the Christian movies we know (fireproof, facing the giants) so when my friend suggested it to me, I was so eager to watch it.

Luckily my special someone got it for me and watching it had me in tears (actually, I watched it twice) and it had me go back and evaluate my life. There are days in life we just ignore the little things that happen around our lives and we do not pray about it…after all they are  too little…you can handle that. But we never realize we welcome the devil in our lives through the little things that get bigger with time. I love how Elizabeth struggles with being a prayerful woman (I totally understood her) but when things got out of hand she understood she needed God and needing him meant not turning back at any time. All of our life battles are really not for us to handle but God’s. No matter how small they seem let go and let God. Chase the devil from your life because all he knows is to steal, kill and destroy.

So I learnt...I will never let things worry me just cause I think I can fix it yet there is someone mightier than me who is always willing to solve it for me...AT NO COST(maybe just one; my commitment and submission to him…but that is all really).All  I just have to do is ask. That’s how awesome my God is.

Have a blessed weekend, won’t you?

NEW MeeEEE!!

 Its been months since i posted my last piece and am soo happy to  finally be back here.I made a few changes (depends what you understand by a few) but i hope you like the new look for the blog.
First i want to say thank you to everyone who kept pushing me to come back and yes expect great posts hence forth.Actually my next post will be up soon;before the end of this week hopefully.Keep watch for it!😄😜
Love,raycee
live.love.laugh

Let's talk natural hair!!!

Hey loves,

This week was amazing because I finally had one of my dreams come true and am super-duper excited about it!!!:-).I have always wanted to start my own natural hair journey but it was still a dream until three months ago when I had my big “chop off”.My hair has always been the least of my concerns ever since it was damaged and affect by hair relaxers.It was too weak and hiding it behind all the braiding wasn’t helping either.

So let me tell you how it all started(story time people!!)…

So there was this day that I was watching Victoria’s lounge and she happened to have the most amazing ladies on her show..guess who they were?they were naturalista’s!!it literally had my 'happy hormones' excited and I knew I had to start my own natural hair journey.I went online looked up on some of the guest’s blog and I realized I had been so unfair to my hair and all this while I was doing it all wrong.It was definitely scary to begin the whole thing.Since I didn’t want to transition,I had to face my scare of  having my hair chopped off and second natural hair products can be really expensive(especially when you are a student) but I was determined.I didn’t actualize this dream there and then till on May this year that I decided to take that step.Had my hair cut and started my natural hair regimen.It’s not an easy journey and sometimes I wish I could wake up and have my hair all stretchy and with volume(that big Afro dream)but reality is this is a journey and I am falling in love with each step I make.

I took some of my tips from my favorite natural hair bloggers in Kenya:Sheila Ndinda(follow her blog here) and Tabitha Tongoi(follow her blog here too!!!) reason being they have excellent tips;precise and easy to follow and  I  keep following their hair journey which motivates me to keep going.Plus they have video tutorials!!(for the lazy ones like me..lol).

To help another sister who wishes to begin her own hair journey I outlined some of the do’s and don’t and some of my own routines and regimen that I try on my hair.

Do’s and don’ts of natural hair

• Do not blow dry since it weakens your hair by depriving your hair of moisture.It’s advisable that you air dry instead.
• Hair products with mineral oils and sulphates are not advisable for natural hair.
• Make water your hair’s best friend.You hair needs lots of water to stay moisturized
• Less combing of hair.If its necessary to comb use a wide tooth comb and make use of your fingers too!!they are perfect for de-tangling
• moisturize your hair often.
• Lastly and most important good diet and less stress.

 

My hair regimen

I had my braids undone yesterday and tried my regimen for the first time.So this is what I did:

• Pre-poo - I had to undo my braids till late at night.After having my last braid out,I applied some good amount of coconut oil,tied my hair with a satin scarf and went to bed.The next day,I applied alberto balsam sunkissed raspberry conditioner then used a wide comb to detangle. I did shed a few hair strands which is normal
• Shampoo and conditioning-I then used alberto balsam  sunkissed raspberry  shampoo to wash my hair and conditioned using alberto balsam  sunkissed raspberry  conditioner to retain the moisture
• Treatment-I used ORS hair mayonnaise  as my protein treatment which I applied,cover it with a shower cap and wrapped a warm towel over it.After 45 minutes,I rinsed it off.I then made my own DIY recipe for Hot oil treatment which consisted of coconut and castor oil.I applied my hot oil treatment,covered it for 30minutes in a shower cap and wrapped a warm towel over it.I then rinsed it off with warm water followed up by cold water to seal the cuticles.i removed excess water with an old shirt and left my hair to air dry
• Moisturizing-I then used castor oil for my hair roots and coconut oil for the endings.Followed up by Mikalla total moisture boost leave in treatment and sealed it with miss Africa shea butter that i whipped up by myself.Since my hair is still short I could not twist it but I tied a scarf and went to bed.The next day I sprayed my hair with my mix of coconut oil,glycerin and water and went to work!!!i will probably have it in braids this weekend.

Hope it works for you too!!

inferiority complex

Hey my lovely ones! so this post has been written soo late at night (around 12.27am) with reasons and one is that I could not sleep because I have been think of this for the last two weeks. This is one of those posts which will be sooooooo long but I promise you it will be worth it. It has to be! That is why am up this late.Ooh and I should apologize to my male readers because this happens to be for the ladies….again!!but y’all know you can get your sisters, girlfriends or your mum(if you wish) to read this and hey maybe you might get some insight on some girl ‘code’ *wink*

So of late I have been hanging out with a bunch of wonderful friends and am glad there are so many lessons about life that am learning from them and this post was basically a ‘push’ from one of them, Njeri.Shout out to her for being an angel. You know everyone knows you are the sweetest creature on earth darling! a gift from heaven is what I can describe you. But this post is not about her, Its about inferiority in women.

The past few weeks, have made me feel soo hurt by the fact that  soo many ladies are letting the inferiority syndrome take control of their lives. I have witnessed ladies being abused by their so called men (not even in a light note)and still go back to them..I have seen ladies being beaten brutally but still going back to the same man…I have seen ladies begging for a man to love him yet he doesn’t!!Why do we let inferiority destroy our images ladies???I know maybe we might have trust issues or carry our burdens from our up-brings but that should not be the case.

I was watching Victoria’s lounge the other day and they were speaking on how women are enemies of themselves (I hope that was the correct topic) we never really support each other in our success, even in our weaknesses. I might see a friend in need but  I would not help them because I think she should fix her own issues. It also applies to success, we get soo jealous of another woman succeeding..Why????See this is the reason why there are some of our own who are in dare need but don’t know where to run to and they end up suffering from what I call ‘self-damage’. I know if I were to support so and so then they would not make such and such mistakes. We should be each other’s keeper. Sometimes our judgment is so clouded that we need a clear conscious to remind us of the right path and that is why there is you and me. To help each other.

I don’t understand why we should be enemies because of a guy yet I am 100% sure most guys will still be friends even if they were pursuing the same chic. Really absurd!! But don’t say it’s life cause it’s not…it’s a sick mentality that we have cultivated which we should stop!!!Let’s just be one, talk to another and for the record you are not a mat to beg or be stepped upon…if he doesn’t want you walk away,,,make it your  purpose  to live the life God created you to live. Don’t be limited by your upbringing, don’t say you will just get a man like your dad; an abuser, a drunkard, a player…don’t look for such a man. Look for a man who you don’t see all those ugly personalities in. As a matter of fact look for a man who is going to bring the very best out of you!!And yes he should be a man after God’s own heart.

So to end this long post, remind yourself you are greater than what you think..You can overcome and sometimes the tears maybe soo much but never feel you are under human being’s feet...you are only allowed to be down on your knees when you are with your Creator. It breaks my heart to see my fellow lady suffer so much because they force love. Love comes at its right time. Please stop forcing it and let God do his thing!!You just seat back and relax…he’s got a plan darling. I guess this is not only for you but am also speaking to myself as a reminder during this transition from a “want to experience it all’ to where I want to be. To be strong, hold my head up and stand up for another lady. So to any lady out there who we have crossed paths or offended  in any way this is my apology to you and know that I stand up for you.

In case you want to know more about relationship I recommend this book..’ power of pussy’ by Kara King..lool I know the title is abit outrageous but it’s an amazing book for women especially on relationships. I have been reading it and It has given me soo much insight and empowerment.

p/s:shout out to my special someone for always letting me be the best of me(and for being my biggest critic of all time)

GOSPEL LYRICS: IT ALL BELONG TO YOU by Damita Haddon

GOSPEL LYRICS: IT ALL BELONG TO YOU by Damita Haddon: Your browser does not support this audio My heart, my mind, my soul belongs to you My love, my life it all belongs to you Belongs to...

you're beautiful hun!!

I had a conversation with a friend of mine last week(sorry for posting it late)and it was so interesting that he kept insisting that I should post it on my blog.What actually  happened was that a young lady was  roaming around the place we were seated.It wasn’t the fact she was walking all around looking clueless that caught our attention but her dressing and hairstyle that made us have this whole conversation.She was in a white short(abit too short for class)with a black tank top and her hair tied in a bun(may I add she had colored braids) but shaved on the sides(I can’t recall the name of that hairstyle but I believe Rihanna was the first artist I saw it with and in case you have listened to Demi Lovato’s  ‘nightingale’ song then you know where  I am getting at).

We both kept looking at her for a while then this is what followed:-

ME:My dad can never allow me to have colored braids!!

HIM:Why do ladies have to put on colored braids anyway?It makes them look weird.

ME:I think most ladies who put on colored braids,skimpy clothes,too much makeup and extremely bright colors are just in secured.They lack inner confidence but they do all this to appear confident so that they may not be judged.

HIM:Exactly!!put that sh*t on your blog…It’s for real!!You talk about life right?!then that’s a fact

ME:*LAUGHING*am going to post it tomorrow

By the time we were done with our conversation we had to attend another lecture but I kept think, is this real the case?I had watched a reality show where they would transform  ladies dressing codes and hairstyles and that day they were transforming a young lady(apparently she was a nurse).She was too extreme with colors from purple/green wigs and weaves to luminous clothes(skimpy ones!!) .She was in the show so that she may learn how to tone it down but in the process of letting go,she confessed how she felt ugly and fat. That all she wanted was to impress men and have them notice her.See under all that layer of make up and fake hair was a broken soul which was trying soo had to fit.I felt pity for her but she had taught me something.

Not all ladies that apply makeup or have colored hair are in-secured or lack self-esteem  NO-NO-NO!!that is not what am saying.I know somethings are just because of trends but we should take into account there are ladies out there who are bitter and angry at life,who are in low spirits and they feel rejected.They try soo hard to fit in society.Buy the latest trends,do the craziest things just to be noticed and loved.Men,ladies love attention(at least a listening ear) and someone to remind them how beautiful or how good they are.

So my dear ladies,this was specifically for you not to tarnish our name but to remind you that YOU ARE WONDERFUL,BEAUTIFUL,GORGEOUS and no one can change that fact except your creator.Don’t hide under all that makeup thinking you’re not beautiful enough trust me there is someone out there who believes you’re the most gorgeous creature on planet earth.

Someone once told me “you know you can put on dirty clothes,torn shoes,untidy hair but the confidence you exhibit will turn heads!!” ha-ha I know it was abit exaggerated but she just wanted to prove to me the power of confidence.

Here is what I believe Confidence(never go overboard) + self-esteem = BEAUTY

Hold your head up high hun!!you are BEAUTIFUL!!